The Democratic Alliance has published its intent to introduce a private members’ bill (PMB) to parliament to rein in the perks and freebies offered to cabinet ministers.
DA MP Dr Leon Schreiber submitted the PMB notice at the end of January, with comments for the bill open until 20 February 2023.
The draft bill comes in response to the massive controversy that erupted in 2022 when it was revealed that cabinet ministers would get uncapped free utilities at taxpayers’ expense – at a time when the country was thrust into continuous blackouts due to load shedding.
The change for ministers’ utility bills was one of several changes that were made to cabinet perks in the middle of the year when president Cyril Ramaphosa unilaterally adjusted the provisions within the Guide for Members of the Executive – commonly referred to as the ministerial handbook – in April 2022.
Following outrage from South Africans at large, the president reversed the changes in October and set the provisions back to as they were in the 2019 update of the handbook. He also said that the handbook would be reviewed in its entirety.
Through the 2019 handbook, cabinet ministers are entitled to, among others:
- VIP protection services;
- Up to R700,000 for vehicles for official use;
- Coverage of travel costs for official purposes;
- The use of VIP services at airports during official trips;
- Security upgrades at official residences;
- Coverage of utilities at official residences;
- The employment of aides and other workers to assist on the job.
These perks are over and above the salaries ministers and deputy ministers draw, which is between R2 million and R2.4 million a year.
However, according to the DA, reverting and reviewing the handbook does not do enough to address massive flaws around the perks.
Follow-up questions to the president about why the changes were made and under which laws or regulations they were allowed, Ramaphosa stated that there is no legislative basis for the handbook to exist.
“The adoption of the guide is not done in terms of any legislative provision but is the result of a cabinet decision that the tools of the trade need to be defined and regulated,” Ramaphosa said at the time.
Simply put, the handbook exists only because the government wants it to, and there are no laws or regulations limiting what perks can be made available, how much can be spent, or necessitating a transparent process in determining this.
According to the DA, this is the main issue that the new draft bill aims to address.
“Despite the President bowing to public pressure over the latest amendments to the guide, systemic problems with the guide remain. Principal among these is a lack of controls and transparency,” the party said.
“There is also no requirement for the National Assembly, or the president, to consider relevant factors, such as prevailing economic conditions in the country or the comparative costs of different tools of trade.
“Also, in contrast to other remuneration decisions, there is no legal requirement for the President to report changes to the guide to the National Assembly, nor is there any requirement to regularly review these allowances and benefits.”
Through the draft Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Amendment Bill, 2023, the party aims to amend the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, 1998 to make the handbook part of law, and bring it under the oversight of the National Assembly.
Broadly, the new laws would:
- Provide for transparency and oversight where the President makes a decision about allowances, benefits, or tools of trade for the Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers;
- Provide for a review of all allowances, tools of trade and benefits of the President, Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers and regular reviews thereafter;
- Require the President to consider recommendations from the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers when providing allowances, tools of trade, and benefits; and
- Require the president to inform the National Assembly when making any changes to allowances, tools of trade and benefits.
Comments can be emailed to the Speaker of the National Assembly at [email protected] and Dr Leon Schreiber at [email protected] by no later than Monday, 20 February 2023.
Read: Push to scrap free water, electricity and other perks for ministers in South Africa
Artmotion S.Africa
